Concrete Angel
by Silver Spider
Summary: REPOST of “Concrete Angel” and “Wings of Despair.” After “X23,” Logan sets out on a search to find the closest person he has to family. Laurie (X23) deals with her relationship with the students of the Xavier Institute as well as what Hydra did to her.
1. Chapter 1

**_Author's Note:_** I'm reposting "Concrete Angel" and "Wings of Despair" as one story. Never thought I'd get back to it, but the new X-23 mini-series comic inspired me to do so. So I'll repost the chapters I had, until I get to the new stuff which I already started writing.

Now this version of the story is slightly different. For one thing, X-23's name will be Laurie, not Amiko. In X-Men: The End comic which takes place 5-15 years after the current X-Men series, they called X-23 Laurie, so I guess that's her official name. Also Amiko is a separate character, and X-23 deserves a name of her own. The second difference is in the dialogue. I'm trying to stay more in-character on some of these even if I fail a lot. Some of the details are also slightly different since I read the X-23 mini-series comic.

Also I know Logan might seem a little too soft in this fic, but cut him a break okay? I mean, he's much warmer in X-Men: Evolution and X-23 is kind of his kid. As you can probably tell, I specialize in sappy angst, so if anyone (or everyone) is out of character, you have my permission to yell at me in the reviews.

Lastly, you guys should remember that this story takes place after the "X-23" episode. "Target X" never happened. Okay that's enough of me, on with the story.

**Concrete Angel**

**By: Silver Spider**

**Chapter 1**

The diner was located right on them edge of the street where the typical suburban middle class merged into the poverty of city dwellers. It was the sort of place where men from all over town collected to watch the latest game, down a few bottles of cheap beer, and play pool. An old song played in the background, but most of the music couldn't be heard over the commotion of the people inside. The crowds were not too rough, but it still wasn't a suitable place for a high-school girl in a mini skirt.

Logan sat at the corner of the bar, casually sipping a half-empty mug of beer, once in a while glancing up at the TV screen. The game was almost over, and a few passes later, the entire bar erupted into cheers as the referee announced the victory of the home team. Logan didn't care, but the man in the seat next to him wore an enormous smile. He got up and paid for his drink, and Logan watched as the man turned his back to him and spoke to an adolescent boy. Judging by the similarity in their appearance, the X-Man guessed that the young man was probably his son. They shared a few words, and the teen walked past Logan in the direction of the lavatory.

"Some game, huh?" the older man turned to Logan.

"Wasn't payin' attention," the mutant shrugged and took another sip of the beer.

"I didn't come here for the game either," the man confessed. "See my son over there just finished high-school and got admitted to New York State university. So we came here to celebrate, maybe play a few games of pool," the man peered at Logan from beneath thick brows. "You got kids?"

He paused and placed the mug of beer on the table. "Yeah," came the reply. "Over ten of 'em. I'm a teacher."

"They a handful?" the man sat back down at the bar.

"More often than not," Logan gave a humorless chuckle, "but they're good kids."

"Well good luck to ya," the man looked over Logan's shoulder at his son who had just emerged from the men's room. "I gotta head out. See ya, man."

Logan watched as the man and his son walked out of the bar and turned a corner down the street. He waited for a moment and lazily circled the rim of the mug with his index finger, then licked off the droplet of beer.

"I know you're there, kid," he didn't bother to look up, "so you might as well come out."

At first nothing happened, but a few seconds later the shadows parted to reveal a fourteen-year-old girl with shoulder length brown hair and moss green eyes. She took a deep breath, then sat down in the seat next to the X-Man. A moment of silence passed between them before she spoke.

"How'd you know?" X-23 asked.

"That stench," Logan tipped the end of his nose. "That's what I smell like after bein' on the road for a while without a shower."

"Oh," the girl colored, though she wasn't sure why.

"Are you hungry?" he tilted his head to look at her, but 23 stubbornly refused to answer. "Come on, kid, you've been missin' for almost three weeks. Usually it doesn't take me this long to track down anyone, but you're very good at disappearin'… almost as good as I am."

"You've been looking for me?" she glanced up at him, and Logan could see the smallest glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Of coarse," he confirmed. "I thought you knew that. Weren't you runnin' from me?"

"Not you," the girl shook her head. "I was hiding from _them_."

At first Logan didn't understand, then he realized who she was talking about. "Hydra," he hissed through clenched teeth, and she winced at the name. "They want you back."

"Yes," she closed her eyes and sniffed a bit. "Usually their agents are no match for me, but the operatives… they have ways of getting me back and keeping me in check. I'm better off on my own."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a place to stay?"

"No."

"Do you have any money? Any food?" She shook her head. "Then you're not better off," he informed her.

X's eyes narrowed. "You said you'd understand," there was a hint of betrayal in her voice, as she looked him straight in the eyes. "I don't want to go back, Logan."

"No, I was never gonna to turn you in to those SOBs," X-23 frowned and cocked her head. "Bad language, kid. Try not to pick up all of my bad habits," he waved his hand dismissevly. "I want you to come back to the institute with me."

"Why?" she asked with honest curiosity.

"Because I can help you," he replied. "I can protect you from Hydra. I can help you understand yourself better and deal with what you've been through. You would get the chance to be a kid for the first time in your life." She was quiet for a moment, and Logan sighed. "At least think about it, alright? And in the meantime let me get you somethin' to eat."

He ordered two burgers, a plate of French fries, another beer for himself and a soda for X. The girl stared at the food as if it was an alien life-form, then picked up the burger and bit into it. After chewing for a few seconds, she frowned, and Logan nearly burst out laughing when he saw the look on her face.

"What's the matter? You look like you've never had a burger before."

"I haven't," she took another bite. "When I was with _them_, they provided me with a strict diet of everything my body needed to become stronger. Until a few weeks ago, I've never tasted ordinary human food."

"You mean to tell me, you've never had burgers, pizza, fries, or sodas?" Logan shook his head in mock sympathy. "You've definitely been deprived, kid, but don't worry: with the group back home, you'll learn all that pretty quickly."

"I never said I would return with you," she pointed out, taking a sip of the soda, and made a face at the unusual taste of the drink.

"I know, but give me some credit for tryin', huh?" he rubbed the back of his neck. "To tell you the truth, my reasons for wantin' you to come back with me aren't as noble as I'd like them to sound."

The girl narrowed her eyes at him again. "I will not be used as a weapon, not even by you."

"Ain't what I meant," he replied. "When I told you that I was the closest thing you had to family, I didn't tell you that the arrangement worked both ways. I don't have any relatives that I know of, but I would like it very much if I could consider you family."

At the mention of the word 'family,' X went ridged and her hands began to shake slightly. "I don't know if I can have a family," she whispered. "Every time I saw anyone else like that, it… bad things happened. I don't want to hurt you."

"Let me worry about that," he smiled softly, something that almost never happened. "Come on, kid. What d'ya say? I'll take care of you."

She was silent, then shook her head. "You shouldn't have to. You were right; none of this was your fault. I'm not your responsibility."

"Yes, you are," he insisted. "Maybe you weren't suppos to be, but you are. I'm not gonna turn my back on a fourteen-year-old who's the number one target of internatinal terrorists, when I know I can help you. Believe it or not you do need my help."

"That's not good enough," she turned away from him. "I can take care of myself; you know that. Why do you really want me to return with you?" X knew why, but she wanted to hear it from him.

Logan took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in his throat. After facing, Sabertooth, Mystiqu, Magneto, and Apocalypse, this was the thing that scared him the most. Gathering all his courage, he laid a hand on her shoulder, and X-23 turned her head, but she still refused to look him in the eyes.

"Because when someone askes me if I have any children," X-23 glanced up for a second, "I wanna do more than just list the kids back in the institute. I wanna be able to say that I'm a father, that I have a daughter." The girl's green eyes began to shimmer with moisture, as she held his gaze. "A daughter who I'm very proud of for accomplishin' so much despite the many obstacles that were in her way."

She was trying so hard not to cry. Her breathing was hoarse and erratic, as she desperately attempted to suppress the raging emotions. "I'll go with you," she finally said, her voice hardly above a whisper.

Logan stood, helping her down from the stool. He could see how hard she was trying to keep her emotions under control. He was the only person to see her cry, and he knew full well that she would not be pleased with herself if they got the better of her in a public place. "Come on," he urged gently. "Let's go home."

He lead her out of the bar and to his jeep that was parked just outside. Once they were inside the car, Logan strapped in, then looked at the girl. She was silent, her head bowed and long brown locks covered her face from his view. But weather it was a newly discovered parental instinct or the sharp rise and fall of her shoulders, he could tell that she was fighting a loosing battle with her emotions. Slowly and carefully, he wrapped an arm around her, and this time 23 didn't even try to pull away. Logan held her for several long minutes as her body shook with sobs and feelings once thought to be buried, now violently forcing their way to the surface.

"I don't understand," she spoke between hiccups. "I thought I had this healing power. Why does it still hurt so much?"

Logan gave a short humorless laugh. "Ironic, isn't it?" he whispered, holding her closer. "I've been tryin' to answer that question for countless decades. But where our healing factor fails, maybe we can help each other."

The girl nodded wordlessly and straightened in the car seat, brushing away her tears. Logan pulled back, proud of his accomplishment, and started the car. As they pulled out, 23 glanced up, "Logan, may I… may I consider you 'family?'"

The X-Man smiled and turned his head to face his daughter. "I'd be very disappointed if you didn't."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** So here's chapter 2. I'll be reposting a chapter every few days until I get to the new stuff. As I said there are slight changes. Oh and the assignment she gets in class was the same one I got in my Junior year English class. Actually this entire fanfic was inspired by that assignment. It also has some parallel to what Kurt got in the X-Men: Evolution comic. Enjoy.

**slickboy444:** Actually it was your story and the way you wrote X-23 that inspired me to finally take the initiative and finish my own. Thanks. As for the name, I only really use Laurie because I try to stick to something official. I love both the names Sarah and Amiko, but Amiko was a completely different character, and I did feel like X-23 deserved her own name.

**Agent-G:** Yep, X-23 does deserve her own name, and I have no strong feeling about Laurie (other than the fact that it's just another emphasis on her ties to Logan), but as I said. I wanted to stick to something official. I read your story, by the way, even if I didn't review it. It rocked. And I'm also glad to see a fellow fan of the mini-series.

**ShadowGirlFawkes:** Thanks for the kind words. X-23 is how I got hocked back into X-Men. I buy the comics now looks guilty Anyway, as I said, there will be a new chapter every few days till I get to the new stuff.

**X00001:** Ah yes, the other X-Men. There will be trouble there. Not that anyone doesn't feel bad for her, but X-23 can be a bit… unpredictable at times. And not everyone will be happy that Logan's attention now has to be so divided. Those who've read the old version of 'Wings of Despair' know what I mean.

**Windvuur:** Haha! I also read all the comics! high fives The mini-series is by far the best so far, both in art and plot. I do love her in Uncanny X-Men and X-Men #165. Have you seen that one? That's like a Christmas special. It was totally cute. Logan made her hang out with Rachel and Kitty. I think they completely confused the poor girl with all the socializing. NYX I don't really like. It's hard for me to see her stepping out of the mini and into the NYX series. It's just… well this fic is rated PG-13. Enough said.

**Jinxeh:** You haven't seen the episodes! Wraaa… Well I know a link to the transcripts. Would you like it? And thanks for the review.

**Chapter 2**

**Two Weeks Later,**

The rays of sun pored into the classroom and one could see the particles of dust swirl in their wake. It was only ten in the morning on the sort of Friday that school should have been canceled just to let the teens play outside. Unfortunately, for the students, Principal Kelly had no intention of doing anything of the sort.

A middle-aged teacher stood at the front of the class facing the teens as she spoke. "In her book Wait Till Tomorrow, Goodwin writes in a sort of first person style where she recalls the events of her childhood, but takes it step further and analyses them with an adult perspective. Therefore, for Monday, I would like you to write a short story from your own childhood in the same style."

Green eyes from the back row immediately darted at the teacher, but before Laurie could say anything, the bell rang and everyone started to file out of the classroom. She packed her books and binders and walked up to the teacher. "Mrs. Carter?"

"Yes, Laurie?" the woman looked up at her with a smile.

"This story," the girl asked carefully. "Does it have to be from our childhood?"

"Of coarse," she sounded as if it was something completely trivial. "I'm sure you have something interesting to share. Where did you used to live? Maybe something about your family. Did your father take you anywhere fun when you were younger?"

Laurie didn't answer. She was beginning to feel it again; the wild caged animal that was her anger. More often than not, it took a great deal of self control for her not to lash out at the other students at the institute or the teens and faculty of Baville High. Being around so many people at once was overwhelming, and she was starting to find it harder and harder to control her volatile nature.

"Can I use the phone?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"Press nine to dial out," the teacher didn't even look up from her desk, pointing to the telephone the other side of the room. Laurie crossed the length of the classroom, and picked up the phone, quickly dialing the number for Xavier institute. She waited.

One ring. The teacher got up and walked out of the class, leaving the girl alone.

Another ring. Several hundred pairs of feet shuffled through the halls of Baville High as students rushed to get to classes.

By the fifth ring, she started to feel nervous. What if no one was there? All the students except for Scott and Jean were at school and the two eldest teens probably wouldn't have stayed in the mansion for the entire day. She saw Logan that morning, but he could have gone anywhere by now. The only people she could hope to reach were Professor Xavier, Dr. Henry McCoy, and Ororo Munroe.

While she was grateful to Xavier for allowing her to stay in the mansion, Laurie had uneasy feelings towards the telepath. While he had assured her that he would not invade the privacy of her thought and Logan went as far as to explain that their minds were difficult for most telepaths to intruder, she still didn't feel too comfortable with being too close to the professor. The girl decided weeks ago that her past and pain was her own, no one else's. Occasionally she would speak to Logan, but it was much easier to talk to him because she knew that he would understand better than anyone else and that he wouldn't pressure her to reveal more than she would.

Dr. McCoy was not an easy man for her to judge without a biast oppinion, for the sole reason that he was a scientist. She had spent fourteen years of her life in labs surrounded by unfeeling, unsympathetic scientists who saw her as nothing more than an experiment. She was unsure of McCoy's interests, but the day after Logan brought her back to the institute, he had proceeded to ask her a series of questions about her development until Logan barked at him to leave her alone. By that time, Laurie could feel the claws under her flesh itching to lash out at something, preferably something big, blue, and furry. She'd spent the next several hours trashing the danger room, until she was simply too exhausted to do anything but sleep. The only adult aside from Logan that she felt at all comfortable with was…

"Xavier Institute, Ororo Munroe speaking."

The girl blinked then gathered her thoughts and responded. "Miss Monroe, it's… Laurie." Her new name still sounded so foreign on her tongue. At first she had thought that she would remain X-23 even after she came with Logan, but he had growled at the idea saying that X-23 was a name of a weapon not a child. She would have chosen a name for herself, but once again Logan stepped in, insisting that the privilege of naming children was usually reserved for the parents. She didn't mind mostly because she had very little knowledge of any names outside of those that already belonged to the X-Men.

"Laurie, how are you, child?" Storm's accented voice sounded from the other end. "Is everything alright?"

"No, not really," she confessed. "I do not feel well." As soon as she said it, the girl winced at her own stupidity. It was an excuse she'd heard other Baville High students use quite often when ever they wanted to get out of school. But for her to claim illness was ridicules, considering that thanks to her healing factor, she hadn't been sick a day in her life.

As if she hadn't noticed the blunder, Ororo replied. "Tell me what is wrong."

"I just don't feel well," the girl repeated. It hadn't been a complete lie. She really didn't feel well, although the problem was more mental and especially emotional rather than physical. Physical problems would come later, if she didn't find a vent for these feelings soon. Laurie had learned early that there was a clear pattern to her outbursts that linked them to her emotional instability. "And I'm afraid that if I stay, I… it would hurt others."

There was a pause as Ororo processed the information she was just given. Where Professor Xavier and Hank questioned the girl out of scientifically driven curiosity and most the younger mutants made it a point to leave her alone, Ororo had taken it upon herself to support the child in a similar way that Logan did: pasence, understanding, and not intruding where Ororo knew she would not be welcomed. "Would you like to come home?"

Laurie released a relieved breath she didn't even realize she was holding. "Thank you."

"I shall pick you up at the main office in ten minutes," the weather-witch informed her.

She frowned. "Where's Logan?"

Ororo hesitated for a second. "He went out for a while," she told the girl, "but should return in a few hours."

Laurie considered it, then decided that there wasn't anything unusual to worry about. Logan often went into the city when he could find spare time. Despite the need for family and companionship, there was also a need to be alone. "Alright, I'll go ask one of the other students to tell my teachers that I'm leaving."

"Alright, see you in ten minutes," Ororo hung up the phone.

* * *

By the time Laurie gathered her things and left the classroom, there were very few students left in the halls since the next bell was about to ring any second. The first person she saw was Kurt, as always struggling with his locker. 

"Aw come on," he muttered under his breath immediately reviling his German origins. "Vhere's Kitty vhen I need her?"

"Kurt," she called to him. The startled mutant emitted a sound of surprise, jumped a full foot in the air, then vanished out of existence only to reappear a second later with a poof of smoke on top of the stack of lockers. Laurie folded her arms over her chest in annoyance; the other mutant students were still not comfortable with her. She supposed she couldn't blame them since a little over a month ago she had infiltrated the institute and knocked them out.

"Vhat do you vant?" the teleporter asked from his place on the locker stack looking down at her.

"I want you to tell my other teachers that I'm going home," she said bluntly.

"Vhy?" Kurt asked suspiciously and appeared next to her.

Former Weapon X-23 didn't need this: a third degree from one of the other students. By this time she was feeling her temper boil and knew that if she let it get a hold of her, the school would find itself with several thousand dollars worth of repairs.

"I just don't feel well, okay?" she looked away from him, fists clenched at her sides. "Just tell the teachers I won't be there." She turned on her heel and stalked to the main office, away from Kurt.

Ororo arrived only about a minute after Laurie reached the office. The African-American woman gave her a warm smile then went inside to sign her out. When she emerged, Laurie looked down at the floor, feeling a little uncomfortable. After all, what other fourteen-year-old would want to be taken home he or she was upset over an essay?

"Everything is taken care of," Ororo sat on the bench beside the girl. "I told them you probably cought a cold, and they said you could go home." There was a lapse of silence, then the girl took a deep breath and nodded. She got up and followed Ororo outside where one of th institute's many cars was parked.

Laurie threw her school bag on the back and plopped down in the front passenger seat. She didn't say anything, and Ororo didn't ask, only regarded the girl with a look of pity. If the child wanted to tell her what had happened, she would have. She had learned long ago from her friendship with Logan that people such as himself and Laurie would only talk when they were ready. Ororo knew that she was one of the very few people within whom Logan felt comfortable enough to confide his thoughts, and if she had to guess, Ororo would say it was because she never pressured him into talking. That kind of pressure could only have a negative affect.

The five minute ride to the mansion was spent in silence. When they arrived, Laurie pulled her backpack from the back seat and was about to follow Storm inside, when her ultra sensitive hearing caught a strange sound. Somewhere deep in her subconscious, she recognized it and her heart beat speed up, pounding against her chest in fear.

"Do you hear that?" she whispered to Storm, but the woman only frowned at her.

"Hear what?"

"Shh. Listen," the sound approached and Ororo finally heard it too. "Helicopters," Laurie whispered, and before Ororo could react, a backpack fell onto the ground and the leaves in the tree above them rustled. Storm blinked, and the girl was gone. Weeks on the run had caused her to be particularly weary of military personnel.

Ororo watched as the helicopter landed and a ramp fell to the ground with a his. Seconds later Logan emerged from the doorway holding a rolled up piece of paper and accompanied by a middle-aged man with a patch over his eye, wearing an old beat-up leather jacket, and chewing on a toothpick. Six other armed men followed them out. Ororo glanced up to the tree, but if the girl was still there, she was hiding, and the woman decided not to reveal her whereabouts.

"Logan," she said as he came closer, a grin plastered on his face. "Simply because we live in a mansion, doesn't mean that the general public would be found of the idea of military helicopters landing on our front lawn." Her voice had an unapproving under tone to it, like that of a mother scolding a child.

"Sorry, darlin'," his grin widened. "I'll tell this bozo," he jabbed his thumb at the man with the eye patch, "to find a better parking spot next time."

"And who exactly is this 'bozo?'" Storm placed her hands on her hips regarding the man with a suspicious look.

"Nick Fury," he replaced his toothpick and held out his hand, "agent of S.H.E.I.L.D.. Wolverine and I were just tying up loose ends."

"Yeah," Logan waved the roll of paper, "an' now that we have, Fury's leavin'." He gave the government agent a glare, and Fury smirked.

"Before I had a chance to talk to the beautiful lady," he glanced over at Storm. "I'm leaving so soon?"

"Not soon enough, bub," Wolverine growled, but there was evident humor in his tone. Fury gave Logan a mock salute, nodded to Ororo, who politely responded in kind, and headed back to his choper. A minute later, it was out of sight, and Storm turned her full attention on her teammate.

"Care to share, Logan?"

"Like Fury said," he shrugged. "Just tyin' up loose ends."

"Well I'm glad you're back," she told him, "because at the moment, your daughter is in need of your assistance."

Logan's grin immediately changed to a deep frown as paternal instinct kicked in and lines of worry crossed over his face. "Laurie? What's wrong? Is she alright?"

"No, she is not," Ororo shook her head, "and I believe your friend's brief visit made it worse. Therefore I strongly suggest you go and talk to her." As soon as she said that, they both turned as the massive front door of the institute was slammed shut.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Author's Note:_** The votes are in! So this stays as one story, and Laurie's full name will be Laurie Logan. Sorry, LadyDeathStrike1 and slickboy444, I also thought it sounded more official, but it doesn't make sense within the story.

**Wolviesfan:** Yes I realize there's a gap, but keep in mind two things. First this is a repost. Originally I was going to have just the first chapter as a one-shot fic, but I decided to make it longer. Once this story is wrapped up, I have another X-23 fic coming up. Second, I knew that if I went too deep into the name business, my story would end up sounding like everyone else's. I mean, I love all my fellow X-23 writers, but I didn't want this to be a generic fic. Nice to have a new reader. Welcome.

**Agent-G:** You and I talked already so I'm glad we understand each other.

**LadyDeathStrike1**: Yeah in the original version, her name was Howlett, but that left us with questions of how Logan knows it. At this point in Evolution, I don't think even S.H.I.E.L.D. knows his true name. Thanks for the impute though, and welcome.

**ShadowGirlFawkes:** Thanks for the review. I will have more soon. Oh and I'll take this opportunity to thank you for the great X-23 icons on your LJ.

**Jinxeh:** Hey, I sent those websites to you. It's the first one of the page. The other two are for the comics where X-23 appears. That includes all of X-23 #2 and part of X-23 #3, so if you haven't seen them, enjoy. And yes I loved the Bishop scene from Uncanny X-Men. Bad Bishop for beatin' up her daddy shakes finger at Bishop Remember Emma's reaction? What was it she said: "Keep her on a tighter leash." I don't know much about Emma, but I know I don't like her. How the heck did Scott hook up with her anyway? Blagh. And I did look at Phoenix: Endsong. I'm not really a fan of the complicated Summers/Grey/Frost romances, but the art was amazing. The guy who does that comic did a lot of covers including X-Men: The End. I could ramble on, but I won't. Thanks for the story about your parents. I still don't know if I want to contact my father in any way shape or form, but I just needed to get it off my chest. Sorry if I scared some people.

**slickboy444: **Always love hearing from you. Yes, it was Extermination that inspired me. Between that and the mini-series, I'm going to finish this fic and then go on to my other X-23 fic of which I have bits and pieces written already. That one will stem from the mini-series and will be from Sarah Kinney's point of view mostly. In the X-Men: Evolution universe, everyone focuses on her relationship with Logan, but here she also has a surrogate mother. That coming fic will be a cross-over between the mini and Evolution. Basic idea: Sarah Kinny breaks X-23 out after she hears that Rice is going with her on the mission. That makes X-23 thirteen. The story goes from there. Thanks again for the incuregment and inspiration.

**X00001:** Thanks for the review. No the other's are very careful around X-23. There will be more on that in chapter four and the story that would have been "Wings of Dispair." There's one particular student that will not be at all happy to have X-23 in the mansion.

**Chapter 3**

Weapon X-23 was furious. She sat cross-legged on her bed, barely ably to contain her rage. She shouldn't have trusted him. He'd betrayed her. He promised he wouldn't and then turned around and went straight to S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fury. She was so angry with him that she could hardly breath as emotions ran ramped through her: hurt, fear, bitterness, sorrow, and humiliation all at once. She knew she'd acted like a brat, throwing a meaningless temper tantrum, first over the essay, than over Logan's apparent betrayal. She couldn't handle it anymore.

So she concentrated, and forced the ocean of thrashing feelings to simply freeze. It was a technique she had learned as a child; a way to block out the weakness of her flesh, and function without the illogical distraction of her soft heart. It took intense concentration and discipline, but when she opened her eyes again, she reveled in the serenity of feeling nothing at all.

Moments after she emerged from her trance, she looked up as her sensitive hearing caught the sound of approaching feet. She sniffed the air to determine the person's sent, but she already knew who it was without confirmation.

"Go away, Wolverine," her voice was arctic cold.

Outside her door, Logan winced. On the occasions that Laurie called anyone by his or her team name, it was immediately clear that she was in some way angry or frustrated with that person. In the weeks since her arrival, she had never once called him 'Wolverine.' While she wasn't nearly comfortable enough with him to call him 'dad' or 'father,' Logan had never given her a reason to be angry enough with him to address him as anything other than his first name. Until now.

"Kid, I…"

"I mean it, Wolverine," she could feel the anger boiling in her mind again. "Go away, if you value your well-being."

Logan was about to protest again, but thought better of it. He would give her a chance to calm down first. "Lunch's in the fridge," he told her casually before walking away and back downstairs.

Laurie took another deep breath, emotionally exhausted. Five minutes later, she heard footsteps once again. Former Weapon X-23 was about to yell at her genetic donor that she wanted to be left alone, but her nose worked faster than her mouth. The sent wasn't Logan's. It also smelled like nature and the outdoors, but there was a hint of sandalwood and vanilla mixed with it. The mutant approaching was Ororo Munroe.

Seconds later, there was a soft knock on the door and Storm's soft voice sounded through the lair of wood. "Laurie? Child, may I please have a word with you?"

Her first reaction was to send the teacher away, but after a quick thought, Laurie admitted to herself that it wouldn't be fair to take her anger out on Ororo. "Yes?"

The door was slowly pushed open and Laurie's green eyes focused on the African-American woman. "I was hoping you could assist me in the attic green house," she smiled kindly at the fourteen-year-old girl. "Since you have the rest of the day off and today is Friday, I thought you might have some free time."

Laurie regarded the woman with mild suspicion. One thing she learned about Ororo was that she was very protective of her exotic plants. What could she possible need her help for when Laurie knew practically nothing about the care of a garden? However the request seemed genuine enough. Perhaps it would be a good opportunity to take her mind off her anger.

"Alright," the girl slowly slid off the bed, and Ororo smiled again.

"Good," she said. "Let us go to the attic."

* * *

Laurie had only visited the attic once, the very first day Logan brought her to the institute and gave her a tour of the school grounds. Her first impression was that it was pretty but seemed to lack a defined purpose. She did not understand Ororo's use for the plants but accepted the fact that she cared for them a great deal. Upon entering for the second time, the girl took a closer look at her surroundings. There were several long wooden tables along the perimeter of the walls and two more in the middle of the room. Ororo lead her to one of the middle tables and pointed at a stool. 

"Please make yourself comfortable," she told her, picking up a pot with an exotic jungle flower.

"What am I to do?" Laurie asked.

"Take the powder in that jar," Storm pointed across the table at a clear glass container with a brown sand mixture. "It is a nutrient supplement for that plant," she pointed at a curved miniature tree in front of Laurie. "Simply add it to the soil."

The girl's green eyes narrowed. "You need my help with that?"

"Not only," Ororo rubbed her hands together above the flower and as Laurie watched, a small rain cloud appeared over the plant and began to shower it in soft rain. She had been well aware of Ororo's mutation, but this was the first time she had seen it used. It was beautiful, almost… calming. Storm glanced over at her, taking note of the girl's interest. "The rain is an amazing thing, is it not?" her tone was casual. "On the one hand, thunder storms can bring great destruction and create disasters as they pass. Hurricanes and strong rain fall can bring floods, yet rain is essential for life. It can also be quite beautiful."

Laurie didn't bring her eyes away from the hovering cloud, but Storm knew that she had the young girl's full attention. "There is something else," she continued, "that exhibits similar qualities. Do you know what that is, child?" Laurie shook her head. "Emotions."

The girl scowled at her teacher. She should have known that there was an ulterior motive to the woman's invitation. "I wasn't supposed to have emotions."

"Oh but you do," Ororo insisted. "No matter what they did to you, they could never keep you from feeling fear, anger, or pain. You probably felt very little positive emotions, it is true, but child, you must have felt _something_."

"What does this have to do with the cloud?"

"Because emotions are just as vital to life as the water we drink or the air we breath," Storm insisted. "One can physically survive solely on food, water, and air, but that is not living. As someone once said, 'Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives.' Do not be one of the people who in the end simply dies without ever living."

Ororo was silent, waiting to see if the girl understood what she was saying, but Laurie remained quiet, her eyes lowered to the floor. She understood, alright, but a part of her didn't accept. "He went to S.H.E.I.L.D.," she finally said.

"Yes he did," Ororo agreed, glad that Laurie finally decided to share what was bothering her. "But what evidence do you have to think that Logan decided to turn you in? Didn't he promise that he wouldn't? Didn't he protect you from getting captured in the first place?"

It was true, and Laurie knew it full well, but as usual her anger blinded her to the truth. She had jumped to an extremely unfair conclusion. Logan was the last person in the world how deserved this from her. A new feeling surfaced, one that she had no name for yet. Frowning, she sighed. "He must hate me. I would if I were in his place."

"You only say that because you are feeling guilt and shame," Ororo didn't have to be psychic to know what was going through the child's mind. "But Logan does not hate you. How can he hate a child of his blood?" Laurie was silent. "Go to him. Tell him that you misjudged and that you're sorry. He understands better than anyone what it's like to have wisdom clouded by anger."

* * *

Logan leaned his full weight on the outer wall of the institute and closing his eyes, released a deep sigh. He was expecting Laurie to still be at school by the time he returned from S.H.E.I.L.D. headquarters. On the other hand, Storm was right in saying that he should have known better than to let Fury land the helicopter on the front lawn. From Laurie's point of view, it must not have looked too reassuring. Logan could see why she took off. At least she ran into the house, instead of back out to the streets. If she'd done that, he would have spent another few weeks looking for here, and there was no guaranty that he could convince her to come back a second time. 

He was so caught up in his thoughts that his senses didn't even register her presence until she stood only a few feet away. Logan shifted his head to the side and raised his eyebrow at her. Her green eyes didn't meet his questioning gaze. Logan couldn't pretend not to be slightly angry; it had hurt to know that Laurie still didn't trust him enough. Another stretch of silenced passed before she finally spoke in a hushed voice.

"I'm sorry."

Logan saw that one calming. He had hoped that if he left her alone, Laurie would come to understand the unfairness of her quick judgment, but if he had to guess Logan would say that it was actually Ororo who managed to get through to the girl.

"I forgive you," he replied honestly. "You wanna tell me what happened?

Laurie sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "I thought you went to S.H.I.E.L.D. to turn me in."

"Yeah I kinda figured," Logan told her, "but no. Actually I just told my good buddy Fury that if he ever tried any shit like Hydra did with you, I'd personally make sure he never got a chance to have kids of his own. You know, make the punishment fit the crime."

The girl actually smiled at this but despite the humor, she knew full well that Logan was dead serious about his threat. Fury would think twice before he approached her. She glanced over at the bench next to Logan and noticed a rolled up piece of paper, the same one he'd brought with him from the helicopter.

"Then why did you go?" there was no suspicion now, just genuine curiosity.

"Well," if Laurie didn't know better, she would have thought he sounded nervous. Logan pushed himself off the wall and picked up the paper, tapping it against an open palm. "I went to see that so-called scientist who's responsible for…" he couldn't find the right words.

"For the Weapon X-23 project," Laurie offered calmly. "Don't worry, I'm not offended. Why did you need to see her?"

A smile touched Logan's dry lips. "I wanted to know when your birthday was."

"The date of my birth?" a quizzical expression flashed across her features. "Why?"

"For this," he unrolled the paper and handed it to her.

The paper read: "Name: Laurie Logan. Date of birth: May 15, 1989." She looked up at Logan, green eyes wide in amazement. Laurie glanced up at him with mild confusion.

"This is a birth certificate. My birth certificate."

"Yeah, well I kinda asked Fury to pull some strings," Logan shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Figured it would come in handy some day and you might like havin' it."

Laurie glanced down at the most valuable piece of document she ever held, and then noticed something else. The space for mother's name was left blank, but the one for father's name had a signature in it. Logan's signature. As the full understanding of the document sank in, a look spread over Laurie's face that could only be described as one of extreme joy and pure ecstasy.

With an ecstatic cry, she launched herself into his arms and Logan smiled as he held his daughter and let her vent out all the extreme emotions that had build up over the past few hours. Suddenly she pulled back, tears of joy shimmering in her eyes.

"Thank you," she said. "You have no idea how much this means to me. This is… this is something I haven't even dreamed about because I didn't think it was possible. Thank you… Father."

"You're welcome," he was absolutely thrilled to finally hear her call him 'father,' "But I also want you to understand that being part of a family is a great responsibility. I ain't gonna lie to you, kid, you hurt me today, more than I've been hurt in a long time. Your view of me means more than anyone else's. If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do. This bond of parent and child gives us the most power over each other, and I want you to understand that."

Laurie nodded vigorously. "I'm sorry I hurt you today."

"I know," he stroked her hair. "I know you didn't mean to." There was a stretch of silence. "So, you wanna tell me why Ororo brought you home early?"

Laurie winced. Amidst all the excitement. She'd forgotten all about the essay, which seemed so insignificant now. "It's stupid," she told him. "We had an assignment to write an essay about our childhood and I over reacted."

"I see," Logan was thoughtful for a moment. "Look, I understand it's not the most pleasant topic for you, but we're gonna have to find a way to deal with situations like this." Laurie nodded in agreement. She hated coming off as a spoiled brat. "I'll tell you what," her father put an arm around her shoulder. "I ain't no psychologist, but why don't we try this; take a little bit of time each day to vent your feelings. Cry, if you need to. Join me in the Danger Room and tear it to shreds if you like. After that, I can take about an hour a day and teach you some meditation techniques. I now it sounds corny, but it really helps, I promise."

She thought about it for a minute then nodded in agreement. "And in the meantime," Logan smiled, "why don't we go inside, raid the freezer for some ice cream, and make up a story for that essay of yours?"

She quickly agreed and they began walking back into the mansion. Laurie looked back down at the birth certificate in her hands still feeling as if it was all a dream. She had a family now. She had a father. Perhaps there was hope for her yet.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Author's Note:_** Thanks to all who read the third chapter and my little interlude. This part was originally published as "Wings of Despair" but is now part of "Concrete Angel." In the next chapter, you'll see the new stuff.

Oh and I set up a GreatestJournal X-23 RPG for all those who are interested. We only have two characters and still need a lot of players. I remember from the last time I tried to post links that is evil, so here's where you need to go:

**_v_****_vv.greatestjournal.can/community/hydra-command/_** (v - w and can - com) All the dashes in the URL are underscors

and

_**vvv.greatestjournal.can/community/hydracommand-oc/**_ (v - w and can - com) All the dashes in the URL are underscors

Now those two are communities where you can find all the info. An example of a character journal is this: This is "weaponx23" writen and played by me:

**_vvv.greatestjournal.can/users/weapon-x23/_** (v - w and can - com) All the dashes in the URL are underscors

Look around and if you have questions, ask in the reviews.

**Jinxeh:** LOL! Your french is pardoned. Mine's not much better! But yeah, from what I read about Emma, I really don't like her. I know Scott's not the brightest fish in the sea, but seriously how does he go from Jean to her? Blagh. And poor Rachel! Her mother is dead and her father is… with Emma! Ouch! Anyway, I'm glad you liked the links. Thanks for the review, and I hope you'll look into the RPG.

**X00001:** Yep, she may have made up with Logan, but now the rest of the school comes into play. Stay tuned, and thanks for the reviews.

**Windvuur:** More on the students in this chapter. Most ofthem will be okay with her (eventualy) but there's one that might give her trouble. X-23 doesn't do well in social environments. We'll see what happens.

Chapter 4 

The intense look on the elderly woman's face was a bit intimidating for the young girl who stood in front of her, separated only by a thick wooden desk. The woman had a pair of thin rectangular glasses pulled up on her nose as her eyes scanned over the paper in her right hand. The left one held a red pen, every now and then it went up to mark something on the paper. Finally, the woman placed the stapled sheets face down on the table and pulled the glasses off her nose. The girl held her breath in anticipation.

"Well, Ms. Logan," the woman leaned back in her chair. "Your spelling and comma placements leave room for improvement. Other than that," the teacher's feature's softened and her lips curved in a smile, "it is an excellent piece of writing. I can tell you really put a lot of heart into it. Your father sounds like a very caring man."

Laurie Logan beamed as she received her paper back with a bright red A- on the first page. "He is," she replied.

"Now as I understand, the events of this essay are fairly recent," Mrs. Carter continued. "What exactly happened?"

Laurie chewed on her lower lip for a moment, trying to decide what to say. "I was… going through a difficult transition in my life," she finally answered. "When Lo… Father showed me the birth certificate, it helped remind me that he would always be there for me no matter how bad things got."She neglected to mention that in her case, 'bad' could mean anything from bad grades to scientists-who-cut-you-open-and-see-what-makes-you-tick.

"That was sweet of him," the woman smiled. "Oh I'm sorry to keep you so late," she glanced at her watch and a second later the bell rang signaling the beginning of the next class period. "Here, why don't I write you a note?"

Towards the end of the school day, Laurie was in a rare good mood. It was pretty typical for her to come home from school with a temper, periodically even growling at the other students of the Xavier institute. It would take an hour trashing the Danger Room and another hour of meditation with Logan for her to calm down enough to act like a fourteen-year-old that _wasn't_ the subject of a cruel inhumane experiment and then used as a living weapon.

After about a little over a month of living in the institute, she was starting to get a feel for the people who surrounded her each day. If asked about her preference of company, she would have said that she was still more comfortable with Logan and Ororo than any one else. Laurie did realize that the professor and Dr. McCoy didn't mean her any harm, but she still preferred to avoid any major interactions.

The students were an entirely different matter. Scott and Jean were generally nice, but they kept trying to _fix_ her, as if she was an old favorite bicycle that just refused to run properly. Whenever the pair was around her, they always wore fake smiles on their faces and spoke to her as one would speak to a three-year-old, in a sweet hushed baby-toned voice. Kurt, Kitty, Sam, Amara, Ray, and Roberto started by being very wary of her, mostly avoiding running into her weather at school or at home. However over the last week, the six seemed to come to terms with the fact that whatever else she was, Laurie was now a kid first and foremost. With this realization came the shaky foundation for a possible friendship. Kurt and Kitty were the only students that could make her laugh, and Amara proved to be a sister of solitude, often being a good friend simply by being there without saying anything at all.

The last three students were the ones that managed to confuse her the most. Rouge had a passive aggressive attitude towards her that annoyed Laurie more than Scott and Jean combined. She didn't know why Rouge simply refused to give her a chance, but it didn't look like it was out of fear. So Laurie simply stayed out of her way, the same way she avoided Scott and Jean. Bobby was the complete opposite of Rouge. He acted friendly enough, too friendly if she were to take a guess. A few days after he'd started talking to her, Bobby discovered that most of his jokes and crude humor went right over her head. However that didn't stop him from trying. By the smell and nervousness in his voice, Laurie could tell that he was still afraid of her, but he was clearly trying to fight it, so she'd given him a chance. The youngest member of the team and the only student who was actually younger than herself was Jamie, and at first his attitude had greatly confused her. Overtime she walked by, his cheeks would stain bright red which turned to pink as several doubles popped up, each with a goofy grin. Laurie was confused until Ororo had kindly explained to her that young Jamie probably had a crush on her. Ever since than Laurie had made a point to be nicer to him and it seemed that Jamie was overjoyed. It was good for her too; since Jamie was the youngest of the group, spending time with him gave Laurie a chance to see what childhood was really like.

Bayville High was a difficult setting for her. She was a freshman and if that wasn't bad enough, it seemed as if the entire school was whispering behind her back about something. At first she thought it was just paranoia until Kitty told her in a sad voice that it was because she lived in the Xavier Institute. The student body of Bayville High automatically assumed she was a mutant, which was of coarse true, but Laurie never thought of her mutation as a major problem. Growing up within Hydra, she had bigger worries than being a mutant, which showed just how big her problems really were. The human teens avoided her, which suited her just fine.

She stepped out the doors as soon as the last bell rang, backpack over one shoulder and precious essay tightly clutched in her right hand. Scott was supposed to be picking them up from school today, and Kurt, Kitty, and Rouge were already waiting on the front steps of the school. Kurt and Kitty were talking amongst themselves while Rouge just sent a glare in her direction.

"Hey," Kitty greeted her with a smile. "What do you have there?"

"Essay," Laurie answered shortly, "from Mrs. Carter's class."

"The one you stressed over last veek?" Kurt came around and looked over her shoulder. "And you got an A on it too. See? You vorry about nothing."

"A-," Laurie corrected. "Yes, I suppose it was foolish of me."

"Wow that's still, like, really good," Kitty pointed out. "I remember Mrs. Carter freshman year." She shuttered.

At the bottom of the steps Rouge gave a humorless snort. "Maybe Logan'll put it of the fridge for ya."

Laurie didn't know what that meant, but judging by the twin glares Rouge received from Kurt and Kitty, it wasn't anything good. She didn't know why the older girl didn't like her, but at that point she refused to let it ruin her good mood. A few minutes later, Scott pulled up in his red sports car. Everyone threw their backpacks in the trunk and Rouge got in the front seat while Kurt, Kitty, and Laurie sat in the back.

"Storm asked me to tell you that we have a training scion in the Danger Room a half hour after school," he said as he pulled out. Rouge continued to sulk, while Kurt and Kitty groaned. "Come on people, it's not that bad. Logan thought that he's been spending too much time training with the new mutants…"

"They ain't the only ones he's been spending too much time on," Rouge muttered under her breath. Laurie's brow drew together at this, but she held her temper in check.

"….so he's prepared this one especially for us," Scott ignored Rouge and the additional groans, instead turning his attention to Laurie. "I know you and Logan have your own program, but if you want, you can join us today," he told the girl. "Some teamwork might be good for you, and I think you'd be board training with the new mutants. Besides we're all dying to see what you can do."

"On something other than us," Kurt put in. Laurie actually smiled at this. She learned not to take the German boy's jokes personally.

"Alright," she agreed. "I will join you in the Danger Room."

"Great," Scott pulled up next to the mansion. "Actually we needed another person anyway. We're always paired off for these training scions. You know, to watch each other's back."

"I don't know," Laurie shook her head honestly. When she trained within Hydra, she always trained alone. The organization's theory was that if she couldn't survive the training scions, she was no good to them. The only person to ever watch her back had been Logan, but he was her father, her family. These were other students.

"Three guesses whose back -and front- Mr. Combat-Leader watches," Kitty whispered to her with a giggle. "And the first two don't count."

Laurie rolled her eyes. She didn't understand Scott, Jean, or their relationship. At one point they seemed like siblings, and Laurie did understand family bonds to a certain point. But in other cases they seemed like something entirely different. Kitty had said it was something called 'romance,' a concept that was as of yet completely beyond the fourteen-year-old. She didn't understand Jamie's 'crush' either, but still made a point to be nicer to the youngest child on the team. Perhaps it was something she would learn in time.

"Since Spyke left," Scott continued as he went into the mansion. "You'll be paired up with Rouge."

Laurie's good mood ended with that sentence. She'd entered her room, dropped the backpack and essay on the bed, and proceeded to change into her training cloths in silence. Considering that Rouge seemed to have something against her, Laurie didn't expect to count on her help during the training scion. Not that she needed it, but still…

A few minutes later, she met the rest of the team near the massive steal doors of the Danger Room. All six entered together, and she took note of the fact that the room was in fact completely barren. The program hadn't started yet. Over thirty feet above them, Charles, Ororo, and Logan watched from the control and observation room. As soon as everyone was in, Logan grabbed the speaker.

"Albright, boys an' girls," his tone was gruff, as it usually was during combat training. "This is the big leagues, no more simulated danger. These ain't toys for your amusement. They're real weapons that can really kill ya. So watch each other's backs, capice?" Everyone nodded, giggling to themselves. Logan growled and they immediately sobered. "Today you're gonna be runnin' through the Sentinel training program. You've seen what these things can do, so your ability to take 'em on could mean the difference between breathin' one more day and havin' us carry ya to the hospital in pieces." He waited for that to sink in. "Ready? Begin!"

As soon as he said that, three panels slid open reveling three massive humanoid robots. Laurie swallowed hard and drew back for a split second. Her mind flashed back to two years ago. The day after her claws were laced with adamantium… the first test… giant robots. She swallowed again and shook her head to get rid of the images. A few feet ahead of them, Laurie could hear Scott immediately taking command.

"Kurt, Kitty, you two are in charge of the one on the left. Jean and I will take on the middle one. Rogue and Laurie, the last one's all yours," before he even finished speaking, Cyclopes fired a blast at the middle robot who immediately stumbled back.

Laurie didn't waist any time either. Shifting into full combat mode, she somersaulted over the Sentinel's shoulder onto a small platform perturbing from the wall. In such situations, she knew to always go for the head, which was usually the control center for such machines. The Sentinel had now focused its attention on Rogue, lunging for her with massive arms. She dodged the blow and reaching into her pocket, pulled out a small explosive. Ignoring the fact that Laurie was right behind the robot, Rogue hurled the bomb right at the Sentinel's chest. It exploded, causing little real damage, but the robot stumbled back into the wall, knocking its shoulder against the platform where Laurie crouched.

The younger girl didn't get a chance to react. She fell to the ground from the platform, landing heavily on her side. There was a cracking sound and Laurie bit down on her lip against the pain. She had learned long ago not to cry out. Instead she winced and with her right hand, carefully touched her left arm. The pain came again. She realized that since she had fallen on her left side, her arm was most likely fractured at the very least. The only reason it didn't snap in two was due to the two adamantium claws imbedded deep within the arm. They had acted like an internal cast.

Still a bit disoriented, Laurie pulled herself up, but unfortunately for her the robot regained its bearings faster. It retracted one of its hands back into its arm and instead of a metal hand, a six by six hollowed box shoot out of the wrist area and collapsed on Laurie closing her off from the rest of the team. At first she had stumbled and fell backwards, not understanding what just happened to her. There was no light at all within the metal square, and even with her advanced eye site, Laurie couldn't see anything. Her hands ran along the walls until they reached one corner, than another, and another… Was it just her imagination or was the distance between the corners getting smaller?

Laurie's heartbeat doubled. In her mind she didn't see darkness. She saw another box, only it was bigger and white. She huddled in a corner as a once invisible door in the wall slid open, and several people in white lab coats entered. There were other people there too. People with guns. Then she screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Author's Note:_ **I'm back! Sorry it took so long but I can't seam to get the action scenes right. That's why this story was put on hold earlier. But I did that get through it and here's the result. Sorry if the action is not that great, but it's really not my specialty. The rest of the story will go easier.

** LadyDeathStrike1:** Rogue is… well you'll see in the next few chapters. Basically she sees X-23 as a rival in a sense. Problem is, Laurie doesn't pick up on that. She realizes Rogue doesn't like her, but doesn't understand why.

**Spike's Girl Luna Ash: **Good to see a new face. Yes I will finish this story. I have two more X-23 fics on board after this, but Concrete Angel comes first.

**Laurie: **Another new reviewer! Yay! I like your name giggle Actually you can thank the writers of the X-Men: The End comic for that. That was the first place where X-23 was called Laurie. So I can't take all the credit. Well any credit actually… I'm glad you liked my writing style, though. That's the biggest compliment of all.

**slickboy444: **Yep, here comes the new stuff. Thanks for sticking with me this far. It's always great to hear from you. My action scenes may fall short compared to the amazing stuff you wrote in Extermination, but it's really not my specialty. Sorry for that.

**X00001: **Thanks for the reviews. Yeah, Laurie will have a lot to deal with. She thought that she broke free of Hydra, but something like that doesn't just go away. Wolviesfan: You read Rogue's reaction right. Now Laurie got hurt because she wasn't watching her back like she was supposed to. Think that'll change anything? We'll see. And sorry for the typos I'll try to be better about them, but I have no spell checker on my compy at the moment, and English doesn't always come easily to me.

**Jinxeh: **Thanks for the review. Yeah Cyc's an easy target. I mean, I like him well enough but I have other favorites. I won't say more lest I get attacked by Scott fans. . As for Jamie... that's just to show that someone looks at her as another kid, not a weapon. That crush isn't going anywhere. I think Laurie has enough on her plate to worry about romance at the moment. Well that's all for now. Enjoy the new chapter.

**Chapter 5**

"What's goin' on?" Logan demanded from the observation room as lines of worry creased his brow. The display that was connected to the camera inside the box showed Laurie huddled in a corner as tears streamed down her face. She looked like she was muttering something under her breath but the audio receptors couldn't distinguish the words. She was clearly terrified.

"Charles, what is wrong with her?" Ororo asked also concerned.

"I can't be sure," the telepath admitted. "Her mind is very difficult to penetrate, like Logan's, but at the moment I'm sensing high levels of stress and fear." He turned to the Canadian, "Is she claustrophobic?"

"I don't know! Is she?" with a mixture of panic and confusion, Logan realized just how little he really knew about his daughter.

Ororo watched the scene unfolded with a great deal of worry. She herself was severally claustrophobic, and weather she knew it or not, Laurie was exhibiting similar symptoms of the phobia. If they didn't get her out of there soon, her mind would overload.

"Discus her condition later," she demanded, already on her way out of the observation room. "We must help her out of that cage."

* * *

The voices were starting to crowd her. She could sense them around the white box room. Were they inside already? Would they hurt her like before? There was pain in her arm, but from what? Why wasn't anyone coming to help her? Someone should have helped her by now, but who? Who did she count on? 

A terrible realization dawned on the girl: her memories were fading. Squeezing her eyes shut, she curled up into a ball on the floor muttering to herself. "I am Laurie Logan. My father is Logan. I'm with the X-men. I am Laurie Logan…" She repeated this over and over, but each time the words and names healed less and less meaning. There was something within her fighting to get loose. An animal that would avoid capture at all costs. Even if she was already in a cage, she wouldn't let them take her again. X-23 would go down fighting.

* * *

Charles had called an emergency and shut down all the practice Sentinel robots by remote control from the observation room while Logan and Ororo rushed down to the Danger Room. Down there the students had already sensed that the training secion was called off for some reason and they stood down, relaxed but worried about the reason for stopping. Everyone turned away from the inactive robots in time to see Storm and a very angry-looking Wolverine come inside. Logan stalked over to the metal cube, claws unsheathed and with a growl, struck at the side of the box. He pulled back and everyone saw the three slash marks that went clear through the steel plate.

* * *

As the walls of her cage were rocked with a powerful tremor, X-23 looked up from her corner. The wall in front of her was no longer smooth. Instead it contained three parallel cracks which emitted a small amount of light. Her mind didn't even grasp the thought that the extra light shattered the illusion of the white room. Instead, she came to a different, more frightening conclusion. 

The scientists had no more use for her, so she would be disposed of. They would bury her alive within this cold prison and her last thoughts before death would be that this was all an illusion. There was no such team called the X-Men, no teachers, no friends, and no father.

With a desperate cry, two adamantium claws from her right hand slid out. She tried to extend the left pair but blinding pain shot though her left arm. She would have to rely on one set of claws. She would kill them all for destroying her illusive happiness. She had been happy.

* * *

Back in the Danger Room, the X-Men watched wide-eyed as two slashes appeared perpendicular to Logan's three. More and more followed as well as the screams of a tortured child. Laurie cried and her voice bounced off the walls as if thousands of other souls screamed their pain with her. The torn wall of the box fell to the floor with a loud thud reviling not the girl Laurie Logan, but rather her predecessor Weapon X-23.

The girl's long chestnut locks were disheveled, her breathing heavy. Both hands were clenched in tight fists, right set of claws extended. She looked feral, down right animalistic, hunched over and breathing heavily. Her emerald gaze scanned her surroundings and she emitted a wolf-like growl. In her mind she didn't see her teammates. All she saw were the scientist or nothing at all, and the scientists were about to pay.

From his place in the observation deck, Xavier reached out with his mind to gently touch Laurie's thoughts. He barely recognized the child. Though he couldn't penetrate her mind as well as others, the professor could pick up surface images. Ghastly scenes of torturous training, cold, metallic probes, beatings, and every other brutal method imaginable bombarded his mind, until Xavier could no longer keep a mental connection.

_Everyone, stay alert_, he projected his telepathic thoughts to his students and Ororo and Logan. _I don't believe she understands where she is and even perhaps who she is. You cannot harm her, but I'm afraid she's more than capable of harming you._

"Thanks, Chuck. We kinda figured that part out all by ourselves," Logan snapped back, then turned his full attention on the feral child in front of him. He'd never seen her like that. Even at her worst, when she'd broken into the mansion to seek him out the first time, X-23 was precise and calculating. Now she was totally animalistic. Logan held up his hands in a calming, noneaggressiveness gesture. "Lor, come on, focus for a second here. It's me. Your old man, remember?"

X-23 merely snarled at this. Her eyes flashed to a frightening shade of red for a split second, as she growled and glanced over the alert team of assembled X-Men. In her mind, all she saw were Hydra's soldiers sent to put her through another torturous training. They were messing with her mind, making her believe that the things she'd so desperately wanted were real. X-23 would make sure she never fell for that again. With another snarl, she advanced at Logan, but in the corner of her mind, X-23 heard one of the others speak to her.

"Laurie, it's okay," the Jean tentatively approached her. "You're with us, the X-Men."

It didn't seem to register with her at all, only causing the girl to take her attention off Logan and focus her fury on the red head. Jean reeled back, and would have ended up on the wrong end of X-23's outburst, if Logan hadn't caught the girl's claws in between his own just a few inches from Jean's face. With little effort, he restrained both of her arms and held her small frame tightly to his own.

"Hey, what have I told you about playin' nicely with other kids, huh?" he barked at her in a rough tone, but with a measure of parental scolding. Laurie struggled for another moment, but Logan held her tightly, with a security that only a parent could offer a child. Finally she stopped protesting and limply sagged in his arms. The students all watched with worry on their faces, all except for Rogue who turned her back to the scene and walked out of the Danger Room passing Xavier. The professor rolled his wheel chair over to where Logan crouched of the floor still holding his daughter.

"We should get her to the medical lab and let Hank make sure she's okay," the man suggested.

"Charles, I don't think that is a very good idea," Ororo intersected. "If she awakens in the lab, her mind may think that she is back within Hydra, and that could be disastrous. Her body doesn't need medical attention, even the arm is already mended. The only thing that needs healing is her mind."

Logan growled at both of them. Who were they to know what was best for his daughter? They didn't know what she went through. Hell, he didn't even know the details but based on his own experience he could imagine, though usually preferred not to. What parent would want to learn how his child was tortured? Despite what he would have her believe, there was a drastic difference between them. Logan had been put through the Weapon X process as an adult, when his mind had already had the chance to fully develop. Laurie was born into that hell. Hank and Charles still thought it was a miracle that she acted at all normal. Logan stood up, cradling the girl against his chest and left the Danger Room.

* * *

Nearly a half hour later, Logan tore his eyes away from the sleeping Laurie when the bedroom door creaked open and Ororo entered the room. The weather goddess gave him a sad smile and crossed over to the other side of the bed to look in on the girl. Laurie continued to sleep, surprisingly peacefully considering everything that's happened. Ororo smiled again and stroked the girl's soft cheek with the back of her hand.

"I suppose it is true what they say about children," she spoke to Logan without turning to him. "They are only at peace when they are asleep," she paused, glancing at Laurie again. "She seems so small, so fragile. It's hard to believe she's fourteen."

Storm didn't need to mention anything about Hyrda or her previous life, but her statement was true nonetheless, and Logan had noticed it as well. Though technically Laurie was fourteen years of age from the time she was taken out of the incubation tank as an infant, she resembled a twelve-year-old more than anything else. He was no scientist, but Logan was pretty sure that her healing factor was responsible for this, slowing her aging process significantly since the time she hit puberty and consequently her mutant abilities surfaced. After all, hadn't he watched Storm age from her late teens into a beautiful woman all the while remaining physically the same age himself?

Ororo finally stood up and faced him. "Why don't you go and get some rest as well, Logan? You look exhausted."

Wolverine shook his head vigorously at this. "I can't. I need to stay, 'Ro," his voice was quiet. "She needs to see me when she wakes up, needs to know I'm there for her."

Ororo gave him a look of pity. "She already knows, Logan," the former goddess assured him, but he didn't seem convinced. Ororo sighed and came closer to wrap an arm around his shoulders. She could feel the pain and anguish rolling off him in waves. So much tragedy marked their lives, that Ororo often wondered if either father or daughter would ever be able to heal the internal scars, the ones their mutant power could not help them with. If she could, she would take on some of their pain, anything to help them ease the burden.

"I can make a deal with you," she smiled at her friend. "Stay here until she wakes up, talk to her, but then go back to your own bed and take some rest. You look fit to drop," The Canadian opened his mouth to protest, but Ororo cut him off. "I mean it, Logan. You can't help if you yourself can not function."

Her words made sense, and he reluctantly agreed. Satisfied Ororo turned on her heel to walk out. "I'll bring you something to eat."

"You don't have to, 'Ro."

She paused in the doorway without facing him. "Yes I do," her voice came in a whisper before she departed, carefully closing the door behind her.

Logan released a deep sigh and leaned back in the chair.


End file.
